“September 5,” a historical thriller about the 1972 Munich Olympic hostage crisis, will be released by Paramount Pictures. The film, a buzzy sales title on the festival circuit, is set to open in select theaters on Nov. 27 ahead of a nationwide release in December.
After playing to rapturous crowds at Venice and Telluride film festivals, Oscar pundits expect “September 5” to be a major player during awards season.
Directed by Tim Fehlbaum and starring Peter Sarsgaard, John Magaro, Ben Chaplin, Leonie Benesch, “September 5” recounts the ABC Sports crew who covered the terrorist attack during the summer Olympics in Germany. The suspenseful control-room drama captures the tough decisions as the broadcasting team reported on the live coverage of the Israeli athletes who were taken hostage.
Variety’s Peter Debruge praised “September 5” for capturing the way the hostage crisis “forever changed TV news,” adding that “the film’s relevance is also boosted by the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine, as the repercussions of last year’s Oct. 7 attack continue to unfold.”
Paramount’s acquisition label Republic Pictures had global rights to “September 5” prior to the Venice Film Festival premiere. After the enthusiastic response, executives opted to keep the movie at the studio, according to The Hollywood Reporter, which broke the news of the acquisition and release date. Paramount’s film slate through the rest of the year includes the animated “Transformers One” (Sept. 20), horror sequel “Smile 2” (Oct. 18), Ridley Scott’s epic “Gladiator II” (Nov. 22) and the Robbie Williams biopic “Better Man” (Dec. 25).
“September 5” was produced by Germany’s BerghausWöbke Filmproduktion and Projected Picture Works. Sean Penn is among the producers along with Philipp Trauer, Thomas Wöbke, Fehlbaum, John Ira Palmer, and John Wildermuth.
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